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Royal Lives Oaks plans to build new home

Royal Live Oaks Academy is headed to a new home.

The charter school’s Les Wicks said the Gray family of Hardeeville has donated about 26 acres of land on John Smith Road, about 1,000 feet north of the city offices and athletic facilities, where Royal Live Oaks plans to build a 62,000-square-foot school.

“We’re excited, the city of Hardeeville is excited and we hope you’re excited,” Wicks said. “We will build a beautiful facility and we will own it 100 percent.”

Wicks said the facility will be ready in about 18 months, in time for the 2015-16 school year.

“The Gray family said it would be glad to donate the land because the school is what the county needs for development to grow,” Wicks said. “We expect it will take about six months to do the fundraising, get a drawing from architects and planning, and then about a year to build the facility.”

The school currently uses the facilities at the old Hardeeville school, which it leases from the Jasper County School District.

Royal Live Oaks signed a 10-year, $1.4 million lease for the campus in 2011. Wicks said the school plans to honor all leases.

The school has about 500 students with a 50-student waiting list, Wicks said. It receives state and federal funding, but no money from local property taxes. It currently has kindergarten through ninth grade and a grade is added each year.

“Our students all wear uniforms and we also provide breakfast, lunch and a snack for our students,” Wicks said. “None of the children pay for any of the meals because we want the students to all be equal — no rich or poor — just children who want to learn. We want all of the kids to succeed.”

The news came shortly after the Jasper County school board voted against selling the old Hardeeville Elementary building to Royal Live Oaks.

“I’m pleased to hear that the Jasper County School District solved their funding needs and doesn’t need our money,” Wicks said.

In 2003, Wicks and his wife decided to move to Jasper County after they saw a presentation about “the corridor of shame,” which describes the underfunding of rural school districts along the I-95 corridor.

The school recently received a “good” growth rating on its state report card. Its absolute rating was “below average.”